Reviews

Soprano Bianca Hall & Harpsichordist James W. Kosnik Perform

Titled “HIP Music for Voice, Recorder and Harpsichord,” two music specialists on the faculty of Old Dominion University gave an entertaining and enlightening recital of historically informed performance (HIP)...

Valenzuela’s unwavering control of these forces, his judicious choice of tempos, his meticulous attention to period stylistic details, and his passion for the music made for an exciting and rewarding evening. From the vibrant, animated speech rhythms of the “Dixit Dominus” to the instrumental fury of “Lauda Jerusalem,” the sheer power of this music overwhelmed the senses. In the “Sonata sopra Sancta Maria,” lead sopranos Anne-Marie Dicce and Bianca Hall sent cascades of shimmering motifs from the side aisles of the nave into the full orchestral forces in the chancel, giving a tantalizing hint of how this piece might have sounded in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, with its many side balconies